Tom Hamer and Conor McGrandles’ dismissals against West Ham have given us the unwanted inspiration for this look back through Lincoln City’s red cards, but the card itself has a shorter history than you might imagine.
Referee Ken Aston devised the system, first used at the 1970 World Cup, yet the Football League did not adopt it until 2 October 1976. Blackburn Rovers winger Dave Wagstaffe became the first recipient in a game against Leyton Orient, with George Best following later that afternoon while playing for Fulham. Clearly, it did not take long for English football to get into the swing of things.
There was even a spell when the cards disappeared again, with the FA withdrawing them in 1981 amid concerns that waving them around inflamed tensions. Players could still be sent off, of course, but the physical cards did not return permanently until the 1987-88 season.
Fittingly for our purposes, former Imp Mick Harford was the first player shown red upon their return, playing for Luton Town at Derby County on 15 August 1987. With that little history lesson out of the way, part three takes us back through more of the occasions when City’s players were given their marching orders in the first half of games.
Feb 2013: Jake Sheridan (35) Dartford, 2-1
Jake Sheridan was shown a straight red card after 35 minutes against Dartford on 9 February 2013, following a hard challenge on Lee Noble. Referee Ross Joyce dismissed the midfielder as players gathered around the incident, with further scuffles resulting in bookings for Adam Smith and Jacob Erskine. City were leading at the time, and David Holdsworth made his feelings about the decision clear to the referee as the teams left the pitch at half-time.
The Imps eventually secured a dramatic 2-1 victory, their first win of 2013. Vadaine Oliver’s sixth-minute header had put us ahead, but Noble equalised for the visitors after 76 minutes to leave the ten men facing a difficult finish. However, after Jake Jones was brought down by Dominic Green, Colin Larkin coolly chipped home an 89th-minute penalty to complete a league double over the Darts.
March 2013: Gomez Dali (4) Braintree Town, 3-0
Gomez Dali’s full debut for the Imps lasted just four minutes at Braintree on 26 March 2013. The striker was shown a straight red card following a tussle with his marker, with referee Lee Swabey indicating that he had spotted a stamp. It left City facing almost the entire match a man short on a difficult Cressing Road surface which had required two pitch inspections.
The ten men responded superbly, securing a 3-0 victory thanks to two outstanding Tony Diagne goals and an Andrew Boyce header. Diagne opened the scoring with a looping 25-yard volley after 26 minutes, then doubled the advantage with a powerful free-kick in the 74th minute. Boyce headed home Alan Power’s corner five minutes later to complete a remarkable evening and secure three vital points.
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